Today was an interesting day. We woke up to a heavy fog (see middle picture below) and had to sit until 8:00 AM before I could start walking. I actually went out with about a tenth mile visibility, but I had my orange vest on and I was about ten feet from the road. It was no problem at all and the fog cleared in a couple of hours. I started walking this morning and immediately found a horseshoe, a real one from a horse, not one you pitch horseshoes with. So, I picked it up and carried it till I hooked up with Valda to get my water. It’s going to the grandsons and I just hope I can find another one somewhere along the way.

The day today was muggy, but not too hot. The breeze was very slight to non-existent. This is okay, but the bugs really bother you when there is no breeze. We are currently about 18 miles west of Bloomfield, IA and should get there easily tomorrow. My brother Ron is coming out on his motorcycle to see us tomorrow and then will walk with me some on Friday before heading back to Indy.

The montage picture is from our son Chris. It shows me on four different days during the walk. I just couldn’t believe how much smaller the walking stick has gotten. Just compare the pictures and see how little it has become. Amazing. The bottom picture is of the yard of the Mayor of Promise City, Brenda DeVore, who is also the manager of the Prairie Trails Museum in Corydon. Valda met her yesterday and we got a nice email from her this afternoon. Not much else happened today. No problems and hopefully there will be none tomorrow.

Miles Covered: 20
Total Miles: 2,033.25
Money Found: $0.28
Total Found: $59.59

Today we had a bit of rain. Not much, but it did rain for about a half hour this morning and was just enough that we took a break and had a cup of coffee. Then, it was back outside to do more of the same. We went through Corydon today (where it rained) and continued on toward Promise City where we are currently sitting. Tomorrow we should get to Centerville or very close. Nothing exciting happened today, no close calls, no finding a hundred dollar bill, no harassment by anyone – nothing.

I don’t think this rates as exciting, but it is a milestone of sorts: I went over 2,000 miles today! I also found a large coin today and thought it might be a half dollar, but Valda said it was a car wash token. Just my luck.

Some idle thoughts while walking down a seldom used road in the middle of Iowa. Why couldn’t God have made mosquitoes and flies mortal enemies? Why do all those motorcycle riders with loud engines think that just because they like to hear the roar of those engines that everyone else does too? How come there are just as many empty flatbed semi’s on the road (at $5.00/gallon diesel) as ones with a load? Isn’t there some sort of register organization that could come up with a return load?

I got an email from another fellow FCHS graduate of ’66, Hal S. of Northern California.  I haven’t seen Hal in a number of years and it was really good hearing from him. That makes two old classmates this week. Great!

Miles Covered: 20
Total Miles: 2,013.25
Money Found: $0.00
Total Found: $59.31

These titles of these blogs are getting harder and harder to come by! I try to title it with something pertinent, but I find myself sitting here staring at the title box and nothing comes to mind. Maybe I’ll get better at it as I get closer to the end.

We started walking this morning at Decatur City (Jct. Interstate 35 and Iowa Hwy 2) and ended the day 20 miles down the pike at about 8 miles west of Corydon. We are now in a small county park in Corydon with 10-12 campsites with electricity. We sure love these little campgrounds. We left a campground this morning at Leon and had to pull out without emptying our holding tanks – bummer. Well, Valda went ahead of me into Leon to find a laundromat which just happened to be next to the Dairy Queen. She went over and talked to the DQ owner, Gail Duerr who made a couple of phone calls and found us a dump station at the county fairgrounds, about a mile away. What a guy. When I strolled up, I just had to go in and have a cup of coffee and a DQ sandwich and Gail sat down and talked for a while. Seems he used to be a funeral home owner for several years and then about 20 years ago he got out of that and bought the DQ. He said the county population had dropped about 1200 folk and he needed something else to do. It was difficult sitting next to him listening to him talk and try not to picture him doing whatever funeral home people do. Anyway, he’s a pretty fascinating guy and I do thank him for his help and for buying one of my books. The elephant picture is outside his DQ and I have no idea of its significance.

We had a pretty good day – good weather and no problems. Tomorrow we head toward Corydon and Centerville. We have passed the half way point in Iowa and I was told the hills are going to be less steep from now to the Mississippi River. We stayed in the driveways of a couple of farmers today and sat under their shade trees. I want to thank them for that and for the tomatoes the Arnold family gave us. It sure is nice not to have to drive all over creation to find a place to sit for a couple of hours.

Miles Covered: 20
Total Miles: 1,993.25
Money Found: $0.04
Total Found: $59.31

Tomorrow I should be half way across Iowa! I talked to a Decatur Co. Sheriff today and he told me that the lower two counties across the bottom of Iowa are hilly and the rest of the state is relatively flat.  Leave it to me to pick a route through the hilly part. Oh well, at least I don’t have 10,000′ mountain passes to walk through.

Yesterday I blogged about Dick Simpson, the barber in Mount Ayr who cut my hair on Saturday. Dick told he that he started walking in the evenings with his wife and in a two month span he lost 50 pounds. There you have it, just another example of what a regimen of walking might do for you. Again, you don’t have to do 20 miles a day, no one expects that, but you could do 2 miles a day. If you have a weight problem and really want to lose it, ask your doctor about a walking regimen. By the way, you will have to work at it. Anything worth doing requires work, and if you don’t keep it up, you’ll gain the weight back.

The weather today was just about perfect, high seventies or low eighties, low humidity and a good breeze. We left Mount Ayr this morning and are currently just west of Decatur City at the Interstate 35 intersection. Nothing eventful happened today.

Got a comment from another Franklin Central classmate today. It is always good hearing from people I haven’t seen or talked to in a long time. I appreciate the comment. Thanks Myron.

Miles Covered: 20
Total Miles: 1,973.25
Money Found: $0.02
Total Found: $59.27

Today I took off and enjoyed a small county park with a campground about two miles north of Mount Ayr, Iowa. The weather has been just great and Valda & I got a lot of grilling meat done and even had time to take a short nap. I guess I’m more tired than I realize because I can take a nap in the afternoon and then sleep like a baby at night.

We went into Mount Ayr this morning and had our usual day off breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage gravy and biscuits (after Valda scarfed this down, she wanted some of my dry toast and black coffee – not really😜 ). I know it doesn’t sound too healthy, but it makes me happy to be able to eat this once a week and so I’m going to. We ate at a diner called Peggy Sue’s and it was really neat seeing the 50’s motif in such a small town (pop. 1700). I then walked next door and got my hair cut at Dick’s Barber Shop. Dick Simpson was voted one of the top ten barbers in Iowa this past Spring and he has the award on the wall to prove it. Anyway, Dick asked me where I was from and we got into a conversation about what I was doing. When he got through, he shook my hand and said ‘on the house’. I just want to thank Dick for a great buzz (I told him the haircut I got in Delta, UT didn’t last like I thought it would.  He said his would last till NYC).

We will head out in the morning and should be in Decatur City by tomorrow night.

We had a good day today, walking 20 miles and getting to the exact place I needed to be. The weather for the last few days has been super and tomorrow promises to be more of the same.

Personal to Trace & Syndi: Thanks so much for matching my ‘money found’ up to $50.00! Also to Nic & Jude, thank you also for matching my ‘money found’ up to $50.00. I know this money comes out of your piggy banks (mainly Nic’s) and I really appreciate it!  😀 I hope you inspire some other young people to do the same. Thank you all again, it is much appreciated!

Miles Covered: 20
Total Miles: 1,953.25
Money Found: $0.59
Total Found: $59.25

Well, if nothing else, we’ve learned to be flexible. I don’t think I mentioned this earlier, but we changed our route through Iowa from US 34 to State Road 2. This change saved us about 35 miles of walking North in Eastern Nebraska to US 34, then walking South in Eastern Iowa down to Keokuk. Wherever I can save 35 miles I’m going to do it. It turned out to be a straighter shot across Iowa this way and the road isn’t much different.

Speaking of roads, I’ve run across a situation on Hwy 2 concerning the mile markers. It seems that the state of Iowa must not celebrate January 1 as a holiday. I guess being the first day of the year doesn’t warrant that distinction to the state officials. However, the good people who work at the DOT for Iowa still go out and partake of the liquid refreshment that is wildy prevalent on December 31. Then, like all good road workers, they report to work on Jan. 1 to do their daily tasks. The road markers on Hwy 2 must have been installed on Jan. 1 of some year past. Two days ago I went from mile marker 29 to mile marker 33 in a half mile. Now, thinking that this was just an aberration, I dismissed it as just some quirk in the system. Today, however, I went from mile marker 71 to 73 in a mile and a quarter. Two different days – two different mile marker aberrations. I don’t think so. I thought about it today and figured it must be because of Jan. 1. Now most people probably don’t think anything about the mile markers and maybe don’t even see them. I, on the other hand, look for every one of them and if there is something out of whack, I know it immediately. It sure does make it hard on someone that is depending on them to not only be in the right sequence but also depending on them to be every mile – hence the name “mile marker”. Oh well. If you think there is another explanation, please comment about it. I do believe my theory has merit, however.

I want to thank the Sunshine State Cougar Club for their recent donation to Gateway For Cancer Research. Thanks to President Jayson Hordam, V.P. Keith Hammersley, Treasurer Cynthia Vanderwilt and Secretary Julie Hammersley. Thanks again, it is much appreciated!

Miles Covered: 20.25
Total Miles: 1,933.25
Money Found: $0.12
Total Found: $58.66

Today was very much like yesterday. The weather was good, cool (80’s) and cloudy with a touch of a breeze. Nice walking weather. We are currently about a quarter mile east of New Market, IA. We got through walking at 6:00pm this evening and ended up with 20 miles for the day. Tomorrow we head for Bedford and beyond.

The days are beginning to shorten and where we once could start walking at 6:00 AM, now it is dark. I’ve noticed that the end of the day is coming a little earlier too and I’ll just have to wait till we get into Eastern Standard Time to rectify that for a while.

We went through Clarinda, Iowa today and it is famous for being the birthplace of Glenn Miller. Now when I was in the Ft. Morgan, CO area, they boasted it as the childhood home of Glenn Miller. Isn’t it strange that in a month and a half I’ve walked through two towns associated with Glenn Miller. I wonder where he spent his teen years. See the picture of his birthplace home.

Not too much happened today. I’m still looking for evidence of something in the fields other than corn and soybeans. I’ll let you know. Things are progressing on the Sep. 6 Monument Circle walk ten laps for Gateway For Cancer Research. The Bowl-o-thon is shaping up also and we are expecting a great turnout for each event. We just have to be in Indianapolis by the Sep. 5. No rest for the weary.

Miles Covered: 20
Total Miles: 1,913
Money Found: $0.02
Total Found: $58.54

Field of Dreams. What a movie. Yes, we are in Iowa, and though it may not be heaven to most people, I’m sure those who live here think it is. We spent our second day here and have moved ever further from Nebraska. We currently are about 7 miles east of Shenandoah, IA on Hwy 2. The road has so far been concrete with gravel shoulders. The shoulders are about 8-10′ wide mostly, but the gravel is coarse and hard to walk on for any long period of time.

Rick Hammersley walking in Iowa with cousin Jim & Debbie Barnard

I told you on yesterday’s blog that today would be special. My cousin, Jim Barnard and wife Debbie of Central Oklahoma drove up on Monday and walked with me on Monday evening and then again this morning till about noon. Jim is a land developer in OK and pretty much sets his own hours and they decided to come up and join in the fun. And it was fun. We walked about 10 miles together and had fun teasing each other about our particular families. Of course Deb has been in the Barnard family for over 40 years and she knows exactly what all the teasing is about. After a morning of walking, they checked out of their motel and came and found Valda & me and bought our lunch. I was mildly surprised at this, but was really amazed when Jim opened his billfold and no moths flew out. 🤑  Thanks also for buying us some gasoline today. It is really appreciated.

Debbie is the ‘planner’ in the family according to Jim and I saw what he meant first hand. She had a camera with her and was constantly stopping and taking pictures. She was so fussy about this one barn with a windmill that by the time she got the shot, the sun had gone down and Jim and I were about a half mile down the road from her.

I hope they had fun walking with me because I had a ball. It was fun catching up on family and what has been going on with them. They’ve got an invite to Indianapolis and NYC and hopefully they’ll make it to one place or both.

The terrain is rolling and the weather today was absolutely great. It was in the low 80’s today with a nice breeze and low humidity. After the last three days, it was a welcome relief.

A little follow up info on the DX gasoline station like the one in Kenesaw, Nebraska. Sun Oil Co. and Sunray-DX merged in the 60’s and expanded their business to the Midwest. Sun Oil was from Texas and Sunray was from Oklahoma. They marketed their products through Sunoco and DX gas stations and that is probably why their signs are similar. Of course Sunoco is still around, but DX bit the dust in the sixties or seventies. Just thought you’d like to know. Thanks to Debbie Barnard for that little tidbit.

Miles Covered: 19.5
Total Miles: 1,893
Money Found: $0.03
Total Found: $58.52

We are taking our afternoon break (6 hours long) at Waubonsie State Park about 10 miles inside Iowa on State Road 2, and the rain is peppering down. This is the first rain we’ve seen since we got caught in a downpour in Cambridge, Nebraska while at a farmer’s market. I’m not sure I blogged about that, but we got drenched – Valda twice. But, Valda got her squash and green pepper and BBQ. Ten minutes of sitting in the RV, eating our sandwiches and the place was deserted. Everybody went home, and the guy with the BBQ smoker took off trailing steam like an old locomotive. It was quite a sight.

We got into Iowa today and it makes our sixth state since Bodega Bay. My brother had told me about crossing the Missouri River and I must have had grand ideas of that river because I was sure disappointed when I walked across the bridge. The river was only about 200-250 feet wide and the bridge was a modern steel and concrete structure. I just don’t feel like I’ve been on a bridge if it doesn’t have a steel superstructure above my head. Anyway, we scooted across it and the next thing I knew I was walking the roads of Iowa!

Valda stopped at a Welcome Center at Interstate 29 and the guy there told her that Iowa grew only soy beans and corn. Wrong! I saw hay and am now making it my mission to find other crops just to further prove him wrong.

It’s still hot outside because the sun is out and the steam is rising from the road. I’ve got 5.5 more miles to walk this evening and hopefully the rain will cool it down a little. If everything goes according to plan, I’ll have a surprise for the blog tomorrow, including pictures. Be sure to check out yesterday’s blog, I’ve added the stats and a picture of a sign that can be very discouraging, depending on which side of it you’re headed. By the way, the last mile marker I saw in Nebraska on NE Hwy 2 was 508.

I want to thank Dennis and Angie, new owners of Victorian Acres RV Park in Nebraska City, NE for comping us a site last night. They have a very nice park on their hands. To our RV buddies – check them out if you are ever in the area.

Miles Covered: 20
Total Miles: 1,873.5
Money Found: $0.88
Total Found: $58.49